Mechanical switches -> Smart switches: What hardware?

Hello,

What hardware do people use to turn ordinary switches into smart switches? There are mains powered options, such as the Sonoff and Moes options. However, they are a little limited in that e.g. the Moes Dimmer only takes a push button switch, while the Moes on/off relay only takes an on-off switch. Similarly with Sonoff. I’d love to be able to do sensing irrespective of (A) the type of switch and (B) mains power.

In this post, a xiaomi door sensor is adapted to be driven by a non-smart light switch:
Using Xiaomi door/window sensors as light switches | by Jacob Tomlinson | Jacob Tomlinson | Medium. It obviously uses a battery, but I’d be quite happy to open up my light switches once in a while to swap battery.

Is anybody aware of a battery-powered zigbee device that can monitor a multi-gang switch (i.e., no mains electricity whatsoever)?

Many thanks!

I use Shelly relays for this. They have a setting to make them treat the switch as a toggle on and off (edge mode). That means you can turn the light on with an automation and off with the switch and everything will work next time and the switch position does not matter.

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The sonoff/moes can be flashed with tasmota or esphome.
You can set ‘detached mode’ by setting the relay always on and get multiple button press (single, double, hold, triple clocks) for your lights automation.

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My original post was motivated by trying to find a broader range of switch designs. This doesn’t answer my original question, but it is another interesting option to get more variety.

Click Scolmore make a ‘grid switch’ “Smart Scenario Switch added to Scolmore’s Click Smart+ range”, SCOLMORE GROUP | Manufacturer & distributor of electrical Wiring accessories & Lighting. They claim this is available in various colours, though in practice I’ve only seen the black and the white versions in shops.

It’s basically a ‘smart insert’ for their grid system, and could therefore be used with any of the Click Scolmore PowerGrid face plates. It uses zigbee it seems. Quinetic have a similar grid system, but their switches will only work with Quinetic, while with Click Scolmore the switch uses zigbee.